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Chicago Upholds Foie Gras Ban

City Council Refuses to Bend to Pressure from Elitist Special Interests

Chicago, IL - May 14, 2007 - Despite last minute maneuvering by the Illinois Restaurant Association, Chicago City Council today upheld an historic ban on foie gras. The enormously popular ban passed 48-1 last year with strong support from Chicago’s citizens. Polls have found nearly 80 percent of Americans oppose the cruelty of foie gras, and an even larger percentage of the population saying they never eat the product. A prohibitively expensive and cruelly produced “delicacy,” foie gras is served as an appetizer in upscale restaurants.

Ironically this morning’s special council session was held to debate a proposal on affordable housing within the city, where studies have shown more than one in five residents lives in poverty. The Illinois Restaurant Association, now headed by Mayor Daley’s former Chief-of-Staff Sheila O’Grady, attempted to hijack this debate in order to put the issue of foie gras, back on the table. A strategic failure, the elitist move was met with disgust by citizens and Aldermen alike.

Even prior to last year’s ban, more than 200 restaurants in Illinois agreed not to sell foie gras. Eleven countries have passed laws expressly prohibiting foie gras production on ethical grounds, and six countries have laws that have been interpreted to ban force-feeding of animals for foie gras. In 2004, California passed the first U.S. law to end the production and sale of foie gras in the state. Farm Sanctuary, America’s leading farm animal protection organization, was instrumental in passing the California law, as well as securing last year’s popular victory in Chicago.

In a statement today, Farm Sanctuary’s President Gene Baur said he was thrilled to learn that the ban would be upheld. “The City Council made the right decision by keeping the ban in place,” Baur said. “Chicago remains a shining example of compassion for other cities across the nation and around the world. The production and sale of foie gras is cruel and out of step with public sentiments and dining habits, and the law clearly reflects this.”

Foie gras (translated from French as “fatty liver”) is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese two or three times each day through a pipe shoved down their throats. The force-feeding can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and even organ rupture. Due to this unhealthy and unnatural diet, the birds’ livers become diseased and can swell up to 10 times their normal size, making it difficult for the birds to walk or even breathe, and many suffer a slow death before reaching slaughter. Experts assert the practice is abusive and cruel, and examinations of birds following slaughter reveal ruptured esophagi and livers, grossly swollen and discolored livers, and a host of internal and external infections.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.